Joining the Fight
by ItsMeLizz
Summary: After two years of fighting to be the face of the Divas Division in NXT, Paige gets a chance to be on the RAW. What she didn't know was she had to join the most hated group in the WWE. After forcing herself to forget the past she had with a certain member of the Hounds of Justice, she has to fight to maintain a hold on her priorities. All info inside.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **_Well hello there. Thanks for_ _clicking on this story. Um, this is my first wrestling fic ever. And I've had this idea for a while, so I decided to just post it._

**Full Summary:**_ After two years of fighting to be the face of the Divas Division in NXT, Paige gets a chance to be on the RAW. What she didn't know was she had to join the most hated group in the WWE, The Shield. After forcing herself to forget the past she had with a certain member of the Hounds of Justice, she has to fight to maintain a hold on her priorities. She finds herself thrown into multiple rivalries to get what she thought she wanted._

**Characters:** Paige, The Shield, Kaitlyn, AJ Lee, Dolph Ziggler, Big E. Langston, and other people

**Pairings: **_Paige/?, __others will be revealed later_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people in the following story. And what happens in here is just a manifestation of what goes on in my own warped imagination and thought process. _**

* * *

She was finally getting her shot. After two whole years, Paige was finally getting what she wanted - a shot at being on the main roster. She deserved it. And after a fruitful run on FCW -now a re-branded NXT- , she proved it. Standing in front of Stephanie McMahon's office - the Million Dollar Princess was now running the divas division- the raven haired Brit was nervous. But she had a purpose, she was there for a reason. Straightening out her black dress and fixing her leather jacket, she adjusted her gym bag strap on her shoulder before she knocked on the door. She heard shuffling and muffled talking on the other side of the door before she was confronted by a smiling Stephanie McMahon, "Great, you're here," the older woman smiled, and with a quiet voice she continued, "come in. Take a seat."

Paige stopped midstep and gulped down the lump that had formed in her throat. The most dangerous men on the roster were sitting with their backs to her. Realizing that Stephanie had been staring at her and they hadn't seen her yet, she continued through the threshold, stopping behind where they sat. Stephanie cleared her throat, obviously irritated with the way they hadn't even turned around to see who she had opened the door for, "Meet the newest member of the Shield."

The leader -and the most unkempt- of the group groaned, "I thought we'd agreed that-" pausing after he turned in his seat, Dean's cold blue eyes connected with Paige's as he forgot the words he was going to say, something that didn't happen often. Paige squared her shoulders, feeling the need to fake the confidence she left at the door, but broke his gaze as memories flooded her mind. The other two members of the group noticed the tension, but didn't mention the sudden change of mood.

Stephanie however -whether it be her unwillingness to care or she just didn't notice- ignored the change and moved around them, sitting at her desk, "The board has decided that Paige will be the newest member, and we don't really care if you like it." Her word's made Paige uncomfortable, but she kept quiet, not wanting them to know that she wasn't indifferent to the idea.

Seth, the youngest rolled his eyes, "You know we'll end up ignoring this, right?" Stephanie smirked.

"Like I said before she got here, you haven't a choice in the matter." She leaned against the desk, hands folded and fists clenched in frustration, "You are under contract and have to follow what is mentioned in it."

"Is that all?" The voice made Paige tense slightly. It was brash, yet just above a whisper. Roman hadn't said a word since before she had walked into the office, and she'd only seen him from the corner of her eye when she had gotten there, so she had forgotten that he stood behind her. Since she had met him back in FCW he had always been a man of few words, so she should have remembered that. But as time passed, she had shut them out of her mind, forcing herself to forget memories of her time around them.

"No." Stephanie leaned back in her leather computer chair, "There are conditions." She couldn't see it, but she imagined the eye roll Roman had expressed.

"Like what?" Seth interrupted as he briskly brushed a blonde lock out of his face. He had taken the liberty of asking questions since Dean had remained quiet. Judging from the far off and slight look of anger on his face, Seth knew that he would remain that way.

"You must look out for her like your lives depend on it." Stephanie's tone was strong and sure, keeping the usually outspoken Raven Haired woman from objecting. She never needed anyone to babysit her, but she also knew better than to argue with her superiors. Plus she figured that one of the three men would argue for her, most likely for themselves. When no argument came -Just eye rolls-, Stephanie continued, "And if she makes claims of violence against her from any of you, you'll be indefinitely suspended and you can kiss your title's goodbye."

"That's not-"

"Fair?" Stephanie smirked, "Well, you better make sure you keep her happy." She scanned their expressions, smirk adorning her matured face, "Now get out of my office." Dean was the first out of his seat, the brown haired man was clearly glad to go anywhere but remain in there. He didn't spare Paige a second glance, and for that she was happy. But the group of angry men were stopped by Stephanie's voice, "One more thing. You're hotel rooms have been changed so that you're all on the same floor. And you're her new ride after the show, so you can't leave without her. Now you may go hide out in whatever corners of the arena you hide in."

Paige knew she wasn't dismissed so she found herself moving forward and sitting in the chair Dean had once occupied. Relaxing in the comfort of the chair, only to tense up again as the office door was slammed by one of the less than happy members of the Shield. Stephanie let out an angry blow of air through her nose before turning her attention to the paling 20 year old in front of her. "They'll cool down eventually."

Paige looked at her new boss expectantly, "And if they don't?" She had never been the trusting type, and with the past she had with them, even more so. The Anti-Diva wasn't cynical about certain things, but this wasn't one of those things.

Stephanie ran her hands through her hair, - from stress, that much Paige had gathered- sighing, the older woman then folded her hands on the cheap "wooden" desk, "Then you tell me. If you have any problems _handling _them, you let me know." her gaze bore into the Brit's, "That's an order from your boss. I take the safety of my talent very seriously. I don't know what my father was thinking, but he likes them, for whatever reason."

"No, it's fine." Paige feigned a looked of assurance, "a push is a push, right?" Her British accent laced her words and gave her a unique edge, "Sure I wanted to go solo, but this will work." She had tried to whole partnership thing with Sofia Cortez but that fell through when Sofia sabotaged her match, causing her to lose. But she was the one moving up in the ranks and Sofia had been _future endeavored._

Stephanie smiled, "You'll get your shot. You'll align yourself with the Shield during Rollins and Reigns' match against RKO-No - I hate that name - and on Smackdown you attack AJ and challenge her for the title. You know, fight the _injustices _she committed in the Divas Division" Paige nodded as she ran it through her mind, liking how it sounded, but stayed quiet while the older woman continued, "Tonight will be a big night for you. And in an interview for the app, you can explain your actions, since the Shield doesn't do many promos."

"Sounds great."

* * *

Seth and Roman watched as Dean angrily flung random things around the small locker room they had strong armed from 3MB. Roman had just gotten off the phone with his ex and had managed to ignore his unhinged friend during the call. Getting up from the couch, he walked over to the door, adjusting his title on his shoulder he looked back at Seth, "I'll meet you by the crowd entrance before our match." The two-tone haired man gave him a nod, and he left, leaving him to deal with Dean.

Seth listened to Dean mutter incoherent thoughts to himself, and watched as his friend chucked random things around the room, acting insane like he had after they lost to team hell no and Orton on Smackdown. He knew it had something to do with the news Stephanie had dropped on them, but he had avoided bringing it up. He just stared blankly at the older man. "Dude, calm down."

Dean chuckled humorlessly, "Don't tell me to calm down. We are the biggest stable in this company and we don't need a Diva. She'll be a target. They are a dying division anyway, injustice has overpowered them."

Seth rolled his eyes, "bullshit."

Dean stopped dead in his tracks, eyeing Seth, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me Ambrose. Cut the act, we aren't on TV. You know as well as I do, that you and Paige need to talk. Stop running and fix _that _injustice." Sure, he didn't want a Diva involved but it was too late and they had no choice. "We have to work with her. So suck up your pride and fix it." Without giving him the chance to respond, Seth left.

"Narrrgg" Dean picked up a stepping stool and threw it against the wall opposite of him and collapsed into a cubby locker, kicking a random sneaker away. "Fuck." He ran a hand over his hair, slicking it back. He knew Seth was right but he wouldn't admit it, he refused. All he had to do was get ready for his match with Kane.

He was getting ready to get up when the door opened and in walked Paige. She didn't look at him, and he didn't blame her. She avoided his eyes as she walked past him and into the bathroom, gear I'm hand. A few minutes later, she reemerged from the bathroom, only to march right out of the locker room and slam the door behind her. Leaving him to brood alone in silence.

* * *

**A/N: So, did you like it? Should I continue? Yes? No? Leave me a comment, and let me know what you think? Thanks for reading :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**_ Hi again, I'm back with chapter 2. Thank you to all the people who left a comment and/or favorited and followed. Be dolls, and do it again :)  
_

**Characters:** _Paige, The Shield, Kaitlyn, AJ Lee, Dolph Ziggler, Big E. Langston, and other peop__l__e_

**Pairings: **_Paige/ ?, I'm sure you'll be able to guess later.  
_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people in the following story. And what happens in here is just a manifestation of what goes on in my own warped imagination and thought process._**

* * *

"Asshole." Paige muttered under her breath as she pulled the door closed. The vulnerable side of her that was happy to see Dean in person after months of watching him on TV, was hurt. He hadn't even tried to talk to her, confirming what the colder, angry, part of her to shut him out and ignore him had already expected. She should have known that was going to happen. She didn't exactly give him a chance to speak - she didn't even look him in the eye- she completely ignored him. When she walked into the locker room, he looked like a complete mess. Part of her -the angry one- was happy to see that she had that sort of effect on him. She was a little smug that she could make him think about her without even doing anything. But the compassionate side - she blamed her mother for it - wanted to hug him and tell him how much she missed him, but she wouldn't do that. She couldn't admit that out loud. She refused. Their relationship - whatever was left of it - was over.

She pulled her leather jacket closed and zipped it up, covering what her studded wrestling top hadn't. Her wrestling boots pounded against the concrete flooring as she marched confidently backstage, passing stagehands and photographers who were getting pictures for the WWE app. As she turned the corner, she found herself standing a few feet from catering, where she saw Roman shining his belt at a random table by himself. From that far, he was incredibly intimidating, but she didn't let that deter her. They had to work with him –even against all of their wants- so she figured that she ought to at least make peace with him. Squaring her shoulders and holding her chin high, she walked over to his table and sat down. For a few moments, it was quiet and he continued to clean the bronze plates on the belt. But after the silence became uncomfortable, he put down the towel and looked at her, raising an amused eyebrow. She forced a smile and fanned a black lock of hair out of her face, "Hi."

Roman snorted and shook his head, "I'm guessing you couldn't find anyone else to talk to."

"What if I said that I wanted to talk to you?" She wouldn't directly reply to his statement even though it was true, well, not entirely. After the end of her meeting with Stephanie, she walked aimlessly around before finding the former Diva's Champion sulking by a few speaker crates. They had been friends on FCW/ NXT and spent a few minutes catching up and talking about their story lines, Paige revealing she would be working with the Shield. For whatever reason, contrary to what she assumed her friend would have done, Kaitlyn nodded thoughtfully and told her where they were for the night. She was curious as to how the older Diva would have known that, but she didn't question it.

"I would tell you that you're full of shit." He threw out casually, like it was something he found himself repeating often, "Believe it or not, I'm not the one people talk to."

_Probably because you're so fucking scary looking. _Paige thought but said something else, more sarcastically than she normally would, "No, I don't believe you." Seemingly ignoring the possible continuation of their conversation, Roman leaned across the table, muscles flexing and she noticed the tension settle in his shoulders. He wasn't looking at her but behind her, squirming slightly, like a puppy. Maybe it was because she was amused by seeing his sudden change in behavior– or maybe she was just plain amused - she turned her neck and from the corner of her eye, she saw Kaitlyn walking and talking with the mustache guy, Cody Rhodes. At that point, she was even more interested, _What the- oh I get it. _She thought. Roman really was just a big softie that acted all tough for the cameras. She had to admit though, it worked. She stared at Roman, smile creeping onto her face, "You're drooling."

"Shut up." He shook his head, as if that would somehow prove that he wasn't just ogling the self-proclaimed Hybrid Diva. "I'm gonna go, I have a match to interfere in."

"You're not leaving me here." Paige shot up from her seat and she left no room for argument, waving her hand and pushing him forward. She had might as well reveal who her alliances were with. But it was Dean's match and she wasn't really happy with him at the moment. Then again, Roman and Seth were going to break it up any way – even though Dean had just beat Kane the night before – so she figured that either way, Dean wasn't losing his belt. Sighing inwardly, she followed behind the beast of a man and smirked to herself, remembering the uneasy look on his face at the sight of her friend Kaitlyn, _Looks like we need to have a girly chat. Bullocks._

* * *

Paige continued to tease him as they got out of the elevator that had taken them to the top of the stairs where the cheaper arena seats were, "Maybe if you got her completely sloshed, then you'd have a chance." She laughed, something she thought she wouldn't have been doing in the company of a Shield member. But something about seeing Roman get all red at the sight of Kaitlyn amused her and she couldn't let it go. And watching him get all angry and uncomfortable with her knowing just made it more interesting. She had never been one to be serious with her friends, and although it had been a while, she knew that he remembered their banter and so he allowed it.

"Not funny." Roman continued walking until they were greeted by a security guard that would walk them to the top of the stairs in the crowd.

"But you should have seen your face, you looked absolutely terrified." The Raven Haired beauty laughed, ignoring the curious face of the security guard escorting them. He was probably wondering what she was doing, maybe he thought she was a crazed fan, but she was wearing ring gear, so that would have been illogical. Roman continued on past the man –he was probably the scrawniest security guard she had ever seen – nodding a silent greeting to Seth and Dean. There was a change in all of them, they turned on their game faces. Seth smiled at her – a forced smile but a smile none the less – but Dean didn't even look at her. She stood back, knowing that when their music hit, she would fall back and act like she wasn't there. The opening line of their music hit, revealing them to the crowed that was once enthralled in whatever was happening in the center of the building. There was a chorus of boos – they were deafening – and Paige exhaled deeply through her mouth. She watched as the group of men exchanged fist bumps, and Dean started down the steps, without the rest of them. She gave Roman and Seth questioning looks as they just stood there.

Seth crossed his arms, his Tag Team title laying loose over his arms, "And now we wait." He didn't acknowledge her but she knew he had thrown out that piece of information for her in particular because of course, Roman would have known that.

The Samoan man scowled at the people who continued to look at them even though Dean had made his way to the barrier that separated the crowd from the ring. Paige wanted to laugh, but she knew they were supposed to be in character, so she refrained. The following match would be interesting.

* * *

As Kane approached the ring, Dean tried to come up with some sort of tactical plan. He should have been able to do that a while ago, and had it not been for Paige, he would have been able to do that. He tried, he had really tried, but she was distracting him. She wasn't even visible from where he stood and she was distracting him. You would think that after so many months, we could have been able to keep her from his thoughts, but she was there now. He was pulled from his thoughts as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of his match. He loosened up his shoulders – still trying to think of what he wanted to do – circling Kane and ducking a clothesline. Kane caught him by the front of his vest and tossed him into the corner of the ring and punching him senseless. Kane pulled him by the arm and Irish whipped him into the opposite corner and barreled toward him. Thinking quickly, he dodged the huge man and bounced off the ropes, only to be caught with a big boot to the face.

He sat in the center of the ring, Kane giving him a breather, he assumed it was because he was thinking about his maniacal plan. He was grabbed his hair and tossed around a few more times until Kane went flying from the top rope, shoulder tackling him to the canvas. Paige – for whatever nonsensical reason- stood between himself and Kane, chair in hand in front of the Devil's Favorite Demon, begging him not to finish Dean off and take his title. Roman and Seth were nowhere to be found. He, just like the audience, were silent, confused, and curious to see what happened next.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, _This was a really stupid idea**.** _Kane stepped forward and her heart stopped. He wouldn't hit her, would he? _That blasted__ Ambrose, putting me in this situation_. _He just had to get his ass kicked, just had to. Why do I even care? _Whatever feelings of resentment she harbored for him where gone for the time being because she refused to look weak in her debut. Pleading fell through and she pushed the rim of the chair forward, hitting the 7' foot man and causing him to double over. She raised the chair over her head and thwacked him across his back as hard as she could, making a sickening sound echo through the arena.

Before she would be forced to hit him again, Roman seemed to materialize out of thin air and damn near speared Kane in half. She watched as the three men attack Kane like three wild animals would their prey. They set him up for the power bomb and by the count of three, Kane was heap in the center of the ring. She slowly and smugly sauntered over to where the Hounds of Justice hovered over his limp body, dragging the chair behind her. To add insult to injury, she hit Kane with it and left it over him. Throwing her head back, she screamed her patented Anti-Diva scream.

They were intimidating before, but everyone would be in for an even ruder awakening when they saw what else was about to come. Because now, everyone in the locker room had someone to fear. They were just beginning to cement their dominance...

* * *

**A/N: Oh, snap. Shit just got real. I hope you liked this one. If you did - or didn't - how 'bout you leave a review? Help me improve. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:******_Yooooooo, I'm back again. ELLO I'm really happy with the positive reception this fic has been getting. I extend my thanks to those who have reviewed the first two chapters and/or followed. That being said, on with Chapter 3. There's more Kaitlyn in this one. _

_OH, and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!_

* * *

Kaitlyn collapsed onto a bench, legs flailing forward as she sat down. She didn't know how she was supposed to be feeling at the moment. She was confused and honestly didn't know how to respond to AJ's current antics. But then again, she wasn't really surprised. Her former friend had been champion for all or one day and she already thought she was the best thing to grace the company with her presence. It would have been disappointing, but after months on dealing with her, Kaitlyn grew to expect certain things. But last week, last week Monday was the day she was thrown for a loop. After weeks of thinking that someone was actually interested in her, she was embarrassed in front of the entire world. AJ had planned the whole thing. She of course, had gotten her revenge, she beat the crap out of her, but Big E. saved her before she could destroy her. When she got backstage she couldn't stand the stares. She couldn't stand the pity in people's eyes. It was unbearable. She was touched that people cared –or maybe they all just hated AJ – but it was incredibly annoying. She just wanted people to ignore her. Maybe that was the problem, she was living in the shell of who she used to be. The old her was dorky, outgoing, and independent. Now, here she was, trying to disappear, only showing up to work because she was obligated to. The only place she was comfortable was in the shadows of an arena hallway, alone.

She leant forward – forearms rested on her knees – and sighed. She was left in shambles, while AJ – once her best friend – sopped up the spotlight. The spotlight she worked so hard for. It was funny to her actually. She was sulking, while AJ was going on with her life, living the dream. "This is ridiculous." Kaitlyn muttered and rubbed her temples before pushing herself up from where she was sitting. She brushed her two-colored locks to the left side of her neck and headed down the hallway. She had no idea where she was going, but she didn't really care. She stared at her feet as she walked, she felt like her feet were sinking deep into the concrete. Her body felt heavy, she was sore, and she was sure that she felt like crap. She was pretty sure she looked like it too. Her makeup was runny and the mascara was smeared under her eyes – she had given up trying to keep it from running – and it was starting to dry. As she lifted her hand to her eyes, she ran into something. Something hard, "Jesus!"

"Oh shit, my bad."

She reached up and took the hand of the person she could quite pin onto a person, "It's okay-" her voice caught in her throat, and her brain lost the ability to form a sentence. "H-hi R-r"

"Roman." He smiled slightly. It was just a quirk of the corner of his lips, be she was positive it was a smile.

"W-what are you doing here?" She wanted to smack herself for stuttering. He was just so intimidating, and she was slightly terrified. Sure they had never attacked a diva – they never had a reason to – but now that Paige was involved, that could change.

"I could ask you the same thing." He spoke just above a whisper, he didn't trust his voice enough to speak normally.

She looked over him, and if she had to tell anyone, she would say it was a force of habit. He was wearing a black muscle-t and jeans, the usual. And even she had to admit, he looked good – even if it were just a shirt and jeans – but she wouldn't admit it out loud. "I- I- was just… I was just sitting-" She turned her body away from him and pointed to the bench. The more she spoke, the more she got frustrated, but she was happy that he hadn't brought up the fact that her eyes were puffy and she had been crying, "I- I was just-"

"You were what?" He crossed his arms over his chest and leant against the wall.

She looked at him and squinted her eyes, "Are you making fun of me?"

He put his hands up in surrender, "No. I wouldn't dare." He lent closer to her so that she had to crane her neck to see his face, "I just think it's cute that you're nervous." She stared at him, heart stopping, and eyes widening against her will. "You have a makeup-" He trailed off while he lifted his hand to her face and thumbed the mascara away from the corner of her eye. She closed her eyes and let it happen. A chill ran down her spine as his calloused finger moved across the soft skin of her face. It was comforting. And after the day she had, it was just what she needed. Comfort. She just never expected it to come from him. Roman Reigns was supposed to be the scary destroyer –he was definitely a trash talker – guys like him, they didn't bother with women like her. He was a Shield member. He wasn't supposed to care. But there they were.

"Reigns! What are you-"

"Shit," he muttered. Kaitlyn's eyes shot open to find him staring at her. His expression was unreadable, but she couldn't help but frown when his hand dropped from her face and he stuck both his hands in his pocket, "What do you want Rollins?"

Kaitlyn felt a blush creep into her cheeks and she ducked her head, hiding her face, "I'm gonna go." She quickly walked past Roman, and glanced up to see Seth with a knowing smirk on his face.

"Sooo. What was that?" Seth crossed his arms and lifted his leg off the ground and bent his knee, before leaning onto the wall.

Roman cleared his throat and passed his hand over his drying hair out of his face, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Seth smirked and followed behind him don't the hall, "uh-huh."

* * *

Paige sighed and closed her laptop and stretched her pale arms above her head. She had just finished talking to her family because she hadn't seen them in a few months since the last time she visited them, and she missed them. Family had always been important to her and she always credited them for getting her where she was. To her, if it had not been for her parents being wrestlers themselves, she wouldn't have gotten into wrestling.

She stifled a yawn as she got up from the floor and grabbed her laptop from the table. Walking into the bedroom, she flipped the light switch and put her laptop into her suitcase. She quickly grabbed her phone from the charger and checked her messages. They were from random people congratulating her on an impressive debut. She was thankful for the opportunity, but if she could have done it any other way, she would have. Saving Dean wasn't exactly on her list of things to do. But she also didn't want to see him flattened by Kane either.

Even if she didn't want to admit it, she didn't want to see that happen.

After getting backstage, they didn't even speak. It was awkward and she didn't want to have that conversation. She knew that it wouldn't have been pretty – they would have ended up arguing – and quite frankly, she didn't want to hear what he had to say. It had been too long and she didn't have the strength or will power to do that. She wanted to yell and scream and tell him about how horrible of a person he was, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. So she kept to herself. She had originally planned to get everything off her chest, but after his match, when he still hadn't acknowledged her, she made her choice to let it go.

The ride back to the hotel was silent, and tense. Which had only made it worse. Dean stared out the window, Seth was texting whoever he texted, and Roman had a far off look in his eyes the entire time. She wanted to ask him about it, but refrained. She figured it had something to do with why he had been gone and the slight blush that was on his face when he and Seth had met her and Dean in the parking lot. That was the last time she had seen any of them, she couldn't have gotten away from them fast enough. But not before they all made plans to go to the gym tomorrow morning.

She skipped through random channels, yawn escaping her lips as she fought the urge to sleep. She knew that if she fell asleep, she'd only get a couple of restless hours and wake up at about 3 am. After a sleeping next to someone for so long and then losing that someone, she hadn't been able to sleep in a long time. But she was so tired. She turned off the TV and closed her eyes and took a relaxing breath. As she sunk into comfort of the queen sized bed, there was a knock on the door. "You've got to be bloody kidding me." She laid still a few more moments, wondering if she should just let them stand outside of her door. But the knocking persisted and she was forced to get up and walk out into the small living room, "I'm comin'! I'm coming'!"

Her socked feet trudged along the dingy carpet of her hotel room and she walked to the door looking through the peephole, "What do you want, Dean?"

"Are you gonna open the door?" His voice dragged on – a unique quality in his voice that she had always liked – making him sound drunk. At the hour that he had actually showed up, she wouldn't be shocked to find out that he was drunk.

"No." Paige smirked and Dean was positive that he could hear the smugness in her voice.

"I'm not going away." Dean knocked the door, "I'll knock this damn door down."

Paige stepped away from the door and sat the small table in the kitchen. She wasn't gonna just let him in. Why did he want to talk now? She was willing earlier, they had time earlier. But no, he wanted to wait until a quarter to 1 in the morning. She would leave him out there, but his incessant knocking and kicking on the door would drive her absolutely mad. Sighing – and against her better judgment – she walked back over to the door and unlocked it, "What?!"

Dean stood before her with his arms outstretched in front of him, gripping the door frame, "Were you in bed?"

"Of course I was, you muppet." She quipped, "Now if we're done with the pleasantries, what are you doin' at my door?"

"Asking you to let me in."


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**__Hello again, how goes it? This entire chapter is about Dean and Paige. But it's shorter than I wanted it to be,____ so yeah_. Let's get on with it :)

* * *

Paige stared at him not knowing whether or not to let him in or slam the door in his face. But the way he stood in front of her - ankles crossed behind him and arms still supporting his weight against the door frame – staring at her made her heart break. He looked like a lost puppy. For the first time since he had gotten there, she actually looked at him. He was in sweatpants and a blank t-shirt with no shoes, which lead her to believe that he had just made up his mind and decided to just show up at her room door. She figured he could have just walked back across the hall, but knowing Dean, he probably hadn't thought about that. His eyes were bloodshot –she had originally thought he was a little more that intoxicated – and she wasn't surprised. He had been a heavy drinker during his indie career, but he had grown out of it when he was forced to. She stared at him and her eyes narrowed into slits as she contemplated whether or not she was listening to her head or her heart. _Aw hell, I'm gonna regret this later. _She moved to the side and gestured with her arm as if she were showcasing the path into her room. She watched as he walked past her before sighing and closing the door. She took a deep breath and turned around, he gaze immediately catching his, "What do you want?"

"To thank you for picking up the slack tonight." He scratched the back of his neck nervously and avoided her gaze.

She crossed her hands over her chest, fully aware that it was a defense mechanism. Even though she knew he would do anything crazy, he had never been predictable, "That wasn't for you... Stephanie told me to do it." That was a lie, but he didn't need to know that.

"You could have gotten hurt."

"You care now?" she shot back, "I don't remember you having that in you." Paige shifted her weight onto her right leg.

"Don't be like that." Without warning, he fell to his knees, rested his head on her stomach and wrapped his arms around her waist. Paige's breath caught in her throat and she couldn't find the words or the strength to push him away. Her hands hovered around his back like bees hovered over flowers.

"What are you doing?" He didn't answer, but she hadn't really expected him to. Even though he was hugging her like his life depended on it, she didn't know how to reciprocate the action, even if she wanted to. He held her close, as if she would disappear if he let go. Her heart swelled, and tears threatened to leak from her eyes. But she refused to cry just because he was in her hotel room symbolically apologizing to her. Paige knew that was what he was doing –he had never been good with saying he was sorry – but she wanted him to, for once, utter an 'I'm sorry'.

"Dean," her voice was soft, as if she were afraid to kill the silence of the room. But the tension was too much and she found herself getting physically incapable to breathe through the thickness of it, "W-what is this? What are we doing?"

She heard him inhale deeply and she could tell he hadn't really thought about that. He was probably thinking about some logical reason for him to be kneeling in front of her and hugging her. He removed his head from her stomach and ran one hand over his face and through his messy hair, "I- I don't kn- I guess I'm here to- I don't know. I just wanted to-"

"To what, Dean?" Paige flailed her arms and then let them fall back to her sides, "Why now?" She wrenched his arms from around her waist and pushed him away. She backed away from him and her fiery gaze bore holes into his eyes, "You completely ignored me and treated me like some scrubber you picked up in a bar. I exist in public you know!?" She yelled, her, she leaned over him, and he didn't nothing to defend himself. He used his hand to run underneath his nose and over his mouth. He knew he deserved every foul word she yelled at him. She stared at him and her fury seemed to disappear when she saw the look of distress in him. Her eyes and her voice softened, "I'm always visible, not just when it's convenient for you."

"What are you talking about?" Dean groaned. He was confused.

"You let us go!" Paige yelled, "I trie-"

"You left me, remember?" He cut her off. For a brief second, he hung his head, wining at his outburst. He hadn't meant to react, but he did. He used his hands to push himself backwards and onto his feet. "Was I supposed to just act like nothing happened? I loved you and I didn't want to be friends." Turning away from her, he groaned and covered his face. He turned on his heel and stared at her, "You seem to forget that fact. But I'm the bad guy right? You're just the victim in this situation, huh? Is that it?"

Paige was flabbergasted. What was she supposed to say to him, but she didn't remember it like that. Dean was the one who literally left her, "Dean, you were the one getting called up. Not me."

"So that's it then? Okay." Dean looked up at the ceiling and he folded his arms over his chest, "You're mad about that? What was I supposed to say? Was I supposed to turn them down?" There was an edge in his tone and she could tell that he was frustrated.

"No." Paige rubbed her temples, "You just-"

Dean unfolded his arms and let them fall to his sides. "I just what!?"

She didn't want to break, but she did. She felt her strong wall was crumbled and she wanted to just bawl. She looked down and played with her thumbs. She felt like a child that was getting scolded. "You just cut me off." Her voice was meek and she hated it. This was supposed to happen on her terms, and he just waltzed on over and ruined how she planned it. They were supposed to go on with their lives as co-workers and co-exist. The past was officially the past and she no longer needed it rehashed. But now, he had other plans.

"God," He hung his head. He felt like a horrible person now. He slowly walked over to her and joined her in the 'kitchen', "Come here."

She put her hands up against his chest, effectively stopping him from hugging her. Pushing him away, she wiped her eyes, "I think you should go." He peered down at her, and for a split second, he looked hurt. But she had to stand her ground, "Go."

"Fine." He whispered brashly. "I tried."

"Out."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** _I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but I had an emergency that I've been dealing with. I just found out that my German Shepherd has stomach cancer, so this is the first time that I've had time to update. Again, I'm sorry for taking so long, but i hope you guys understand and are still interested in this story. This chapter is just filler yet it delves into Kaitlyn's psyche and her thoughts on her friendship. So I hope you guys enjoy. Happy reading._

* * *

8 A.M. Oh joy. Early mornings were never ever fun. Kaitlyn didn't want to get up, leave her hotel room, go to the gym, and she definitely didn't want to go to the SmackDown taping. But sleeping in until 8 was a luxury she was barely afforded. A luxury the former champion had missed, then again when she was Diva's Champion, she still had less of her schedule filled up than the other champs. But she knew that she had been a filler champion, she had been keeping it warm and shiny until The Creative was ready to pull the trigger on AJ.

She just didn't want to do anything but curl herself into a ball and go back to sleep. But that wasn't an option, today, tomorrow, or ever. And she had never expected it anyway. Haphazardly, she threw the pillows and the sheets off of herself and lazily rolled out of bed and onto her feet. She slipped her feet into her flip flops and walked into the bathroom. Watching her face, she looked in the mirror and let the excess water drip along her features, "Oh, yup, that's sexy." She grabbed her tooth brush and brushed away the morning breath. She turned off the faucet and as she walked out of the bathroom, she flipped the light switch down.

_Do I want to change? _The answer was no. She was fully content in her teddy bear print pajama pants and black uneven hem shirt. Sighing, she grabbed what others liked to call her nerd glasses and put them on, and in one continuous movement, she sifted her hands through her hair and put it up in a high, loose ponytail. Walking slowly and zombie like, she walked out of the bedroom, past the "living room" and into the small kitchen, picking up the key card from the table, she walked out of the room. The chill of the hallway sent shivers up her spine as she headed toward the elevator. She never understood why the hallway was cooler than the rooms.

Planting her flip-flopped feet into the cheap carpeted floor, she lent forward and pressed the down button with a manicured finger. Instinctively, she folded her arms as she waited for the doors of the elevator open. She threw her head back and closed her eyes, rolling her neck and shoulders, she let out a sigh. Her muscles begged for some sort of release, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, especially today. She had her return match against AJ and she knew it would be punishment on her body.

Speak of the devil.

The elevator dinged and the heavy doors slid open to reveal the devil's incarnate herself. The pint-sized woman smiled her deluded smile and waved at her "best friend" Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and stepped into the lift. AJ smiled at her again, "Good morning, Kaitie."

Kaitlyn stared at her. The woman in front of her –her _former _best friend – was completely out of touch with everyone else, wasn't she? Kaitlyn found herself wondering what in the hell she had done that was so bad to deserve this type of mind fuck every time AJ talked to her. Confusion wasn't enough to describe it. AJ was actually delusional. There was no way she actually thought that the Hybrid Diva even wanted to breathe the same air as her, much less talk to her at such an ungodly hour in the morning, "Good morning, what crime against god have I committed that would permit a conversation with you today?" She watched the chipper expression on AJ's face fall and oddly enough –after everything that the unstable woman had put her through – Kaitlyn felt a small twinge of regret. But she wouldn't apologize, not after everything that had happened the night before. Not after she was humiliated by her ex-best friend and Big E.

Shaking her head for a brief second after she was accustomed to the silence, she realized that they weren't moving. Kaitlyn leaned forward and pressed the button that would take them to the first floor.

The elevator ride was longer than Kaitlyn wanted it to be. But considering the excruciatingly slow speed of the lift and five floors they had to pass to get to the ground level, she hadn't expected much else. She watched her former friend, and wondered how their friendship had managed to implode. Maybe it was her fault, maybe she had betrayed the smaller diva. Maybe she should have paid more attention to her friend and her downward spiral into insanity. But then again, she had tried to help. She just refused to get slapped every time she tried.

She watched as Daniel Bryan dragged AJ through the mud and treated her like dirt. She watched as CM Punk tried to be a friend only to have it blow up in his face. Kaitlyn watched as AJ played both men, and then torture them while she managed to tank her GM run. Oh and then there was the whole John Cena debacle. That was fun to watch. It was like a train wreck. You just had to pay attention to what was happening.

So yes, she separated herself from AJ and her psycho-like antics, but betrayal wasn't committed. At least not on her part. Nope, she wasn't dating her best friend's ex-boyfriend, now was she?

Her relationship with Dolph Ziggler had been an odd, spur of the moment kinda thing. Not many people knew that it was off-screen too, AJ on the other hand, did know. But Kaitlyn moved on from that, and she thought she was over it… until she realized that she wasn't. AJ knew that too. She just didn't care. Kaitlyn figured that the self-proclaimed Black Widow got some sick satisfaction out of it. She looked over at the shorter woman that seemed to seep into the dark torturous bad memories in corners of her mind, and a sick feeling dropped into her stomach.

AJ had been quiet the entire time, surprisingly. That was until the elevator lift stopped and the doors slid opened, "You're not getting the title back." There was venom in her voice – a characteristic everyone that knew her had become accustomed to – and all Kaitlyn could do was smile and shake her head. "Even if it kills me, you're not getting it back."

Kaitlyn stopped in the threshold of the elevator and the lobby, "And what if I don't want it back?" AJ opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't find the words to speak, giving Kaitlyn the opportunity to continue, "You never thought of that, did you?"

"Well what do you want?"

Kaitlyn turned around and faced the petite woman, "I don't know. I haven't figured that out yet." She turned on her heel and stepped out of the elevator.

AJ followed a step behind her, "Good luck tonight, you're gonna need it against me."

"Yeah, whatever." Kaitlyn watched as the woman skipped away down the connecting hallway. She figured that Dolph was about to suffer from her company.

Now that she was alone in the lobby, she noticed that the woman at the front desk was staring at her. Well, at least she appeared to be, and it was making her uncomfortable. Maybe it was her lazy attire. If that were the case, then she didn't care. She shrugged slightly and turned around, heading toward the front doors.

She sat on a bench by some shrubbery, not really sure what she was doing. But she was confused. She had just come to the realization that she had no idea what she wanted from the WWE anymore. Was she happy? If she were honest with herself, she would say no. But she didn't want to be unfulfilled so she didn't admit it to herself. But she also didn't want to be champion anymore. So what did she want?If you don't want the gold, then you have no goal. You have no reason to be on the main roster. No matter how thin the roster may be.

"Kaitlyn, what are you doing?" The voice startled her for a brief second, but the British accent was a dead giveaway.

"Hi Paige." She watched as the newest Shield member sat next to her and raise an eyebrow, restating her original question, "I _don't _know what I'm doing. I just wanted some time by myself."

Paige nodded her head in understanding, "Why?"

"An interesting conversation with the never married Black Widow." Kaitlyn snorted.

"Yeah, I never understood that name." Paige dramatically gestured with her hand and then rubbed her chin, making Kaitlyn laugh.

"Weren't you supposed to be in hotel gym with the other guys?" Kaitlyn questioned. She didn't want talk about AJ, so changing the subject to the Anti-Diva and her supposed plans for the day was a safe lead onto another topic.

"I've been avoiding that. But they just left and I'm supposed to meet them at some pancake place down the way." Paige tossed out the information casually, desperately hoping that Kaitlyn wouldn't ask any questions. No such luck.

"Why have you been avoiding them… or should I say Dean?" Kaitlyn smirked.

"Why would you say Dean?" Paige felt like she would break out into a cold sweat.

"The divas locker room." Kaitlyn laughed, "The Bellas were talking to some of their connections –whoever the hell they are – and apparently everyone says that you and the resident unstable guy were a serious couple." Paige shifted on the bench and Kaitlyn's jaw fell slightly ajar, "From the look on your face and your body language, I can tell it's true."

Paige clapped her hands together, "So how about some grub?" She got up and grabbed Kaitlyn's hands, "Let's go."

Kaitlyn stumbled behind her, "But I'm not dressed for breakfast with a bunch of attractive men."

Paige snorted "Ha, men? Those brutes?" She stopped in front of her rental and rested her forearms on the roof of the car as Kaitlyn walked to the passenger side, "I'm in pajama pants too. You look fine." Paige smirked, "Unless you're trying to impress one of them."

"N-No." Kaitlyn stuttered. She pulled her hand away, "And don't turn this around on me. I want to know what's up with the Dean situation."

"Yeah," Paige unlocked her rental car, "So do I."


	6. Chapter 6

The ride to the breakfast joint was quiet and Paige liked it that way - she felt Kaitlyn had already known more than she needed to - because she didn't want to continue the segment of a conversation that they had at the hotel. She didn't remember most of the conversation with Dean that early morning and she didn't want to share it with Kaitlyn. Her story with Dean was more like a nightmare that she wanted to wake up from. But Kaitlyn was the curious type meaning the Hybrid Diva didn't let things go - that much Paige knew - so she knew she would have to divulge information sooner rather than later.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Kaitlyn was biting her lip and wringing her hands. She didn't want to ask about the AJ thing, so instead she gripped the steering wheel and sighed, "What did you want to know?"

Kaitlyn's face lit up and a sly smile spread across her lips, "I guess I want to know everything."

Paige rolled her eyes, "Just ask a question?" She was obviously not in the mood, but suddenly the silence was killing her.

Kaitlyn sat up and folded her legs onto the seat, "Ooh, testy, chill." She laughed, "Anyway -before you strangle me - how did you guys start, you know, talking?"

Paige sighed, she wasn't ready for this conversation. But she was already _in too deep. _There was no going back now, "I don't remember actually." She paused, did she really not remember or was she simply repressing the memory?

"Oh c'mon, you have to remember," Kaitlyn groaned, "How do you forget something like that?"

She had a good point. Paige squinted her eyes as the sun flashed in them, "Hmmm… let me see." Now she was just stalling. Kaitlyn was growing impatient like a child. Paige held back a laugh when she looked over at the older woman, "Alright, alright. It was after my first match on FCW-"

"And?" Kaitlyn interjected, "Now is not the time to withhold information."

"Well, if you would shut your trap for 5 minutes, I wouldn't be." She shot Kaitlyn a playful glare, which earned her a friendly eye roll, "Thank you. Anyway, he felt that a congratulations was in order – I think he just wanted to talk to me – so he just casually walked up on me." Finally reaching the Ihop, she turned into the parking lot, "He said 'Hi, nice match' for a minute I just stared at him because he wasn't known for talking to people, but I said 'Thank you' while he checked me out. And I swear to God, I hated him from that moment on. Mind you, I was 19 at the time and he was 26, but that's not the point, he was an ass and said something about me having to be flattered that he watched my match."

"There's a parking spot right there." Kaitlyn pointed to an open spot in the front of the building, "Anyway, what happened after that?"

"I slapped him." Paige laughed as she parked the car, "And apparently, he knew he would like me from that moment on. And I thought he was completely mad."

"So you slapped him, and he let you get away with it?" the Blonde was confused. Granted, she had never seen Dean hit a woman and she didn't think he would now, but when he was on FCW he was pretty insane – he was obsessed with William Regal at the time, too – so she was surprised to see Paige alive. Not that was a murderer in the past or anything. She just wouldn't have put it past him. "Sooo, what happened?" She knew they were at their destination, but she was stalling for reasons she didn't _think _Paige knew about.

Paige shut down the car and took off her seat belt, "I think he liked that I wasn't afraid to stand up to him. No one ever really let him know when he was being an idiot. Maybe I shouldn't have hit him, but I'd probably do it again. Anyway, yeah, I left him there – standing by the curtain – and after my next match, he was standing there again. In my mind, he was there because he knew I couldn't stand him, but it became habitual and then unfortunately, we got to know each other." She sighed and studied her reflection in the rear-view mirror. Not that her ensemble was very put together for the day.

"Unfortunately?" Kaitlyn raised a perfectly plucked eye brow and stared confusedly at the Anti-Diva.

"Yeah, unfortunately." Paige got out of the car and quickly pulled her tank top down to cover her back. "Let's go inside before Seth texts me again. They haven't ordered yet, and he's starving."

Kaitlyn followed behind her, "I'm confused. What happened between you two? You and Dean I mean."

"It's a long story."

The two divas walked into the iHop and politely smiled at the waitress that greeted them at the cashier's desk. Kaitlyn – being the more talkative and social of the two – started to speak, "We're meeti-" Paige gently pulled her arm and dragged her away - causing her to yelp -, past a family and into a small hallway that led to the bathrooms, "Paige, what are you doing?"

"Sit next to Dean."

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes, "No. This isn't high school and I will not be your wing-man here. Even though you won't tell me what happened, I know that y'all have some deep shit that you need to deal with and not sitting next to him wont hide it." She peaked from behind the wall they were currently hiding behind and she spotted them. There they were, the Shield. Dean looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there, Seth looked like he was on dying, and she didn't look at Roman. There was an awkward tension between them and she was avoiding him. She quickly shook her head, shaking away the weird feeling in her stomach. She looked back at Paige, "Besides, Dean doesn't look that pissed today."

Paige groaned and stepped out from behind the wall, maneuvering her way around the tables and between the aisles. The two women took their seats, Paige next to Dean at the end of the table, and Kaitlyn next to Seth, across from Roman.

"Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence…" Seth stared at Paige, "A man could starve waiting on you." Paige rolled her eyes. She saw Dean smirk, but she didn't acknowledge him.

"Too bad you didn't." She smiled sweetly at him. Ignoring everyone else at the table. At the moment, she wasn't too happy with Kaitlyn for making her sit there. She respected the Blonde's ability to stand her ground, but if she was sure that if Kaitlyn knew what had happened between her and Dean, she would have been happy to trade places with her. Then again, it wasn't her fault that she didn't know what happened. Paige purposefully avoided giving her friend recent details on how her relationship with Dean had ended. And now, she wish she had.

Seth ignored her comment, they had that type of relationship. They loved to hate each other, but in a sibling kind of way. He looked to the woman to his left and smirked as he looked across the table at Roman, "Look, your lady friend." Suddenly the table shook as he hit his knee against the table, "Ow-huh-how. Roman, you bitch." He gripped his knee, "You kicked me!"

Kaitlyn felt a blush creep onto her cheeks and she tried to hide it by opening her menu. She quickly looked over at Paige – who was currently avoiding Dean's eyes – then looked back into her menu. She felt someone staring at her, but she didn't look up.

Roman stirred his coffee casually as he scoured his menu, "I'm aware." He looked up at Seth, "Now say you're sorry for being an idiot."

"Sorry Roman's Girly Friend."

Kaitlyn smirked and smacked him on the back of the head, "It's okay Sethie, I expect it from someone with your mental capacity."

"Ouch." Dean, Paige, and Roman said simultaneously as they broke into fits of low chuckles.

"Whatever." Seth scowled, folding his menu shut, " I know what I want."

Dean looked at Paige, smirk on his face, "Me too."

* * *

**A/N: **_I know, it was anti-climactic. I was planning on making this filled with drama, but I decided to take more of a humorous, cheery route (well, my definition of humorous and cheery, haha). Chapter 7 is going to be darker, so this one is to balance it out. And you get hints of Roman/Kaitlyn and a look into Paige/Dean, what's not to love? _

_'Til next time_

_Liz :)_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **_Before y'all get to reading, I just wanted to thank everyone who faithfully reads/reviews this story. Your reviews, favorites, and follows keep me going. I really appreciate it. But anyway, enough of this... _

_Happy reading :)_

* * *

She had a match. It was a direct consequence of her interference in Dean's match and she was really regretting it right now. Rollins and Reigns however, had a tag match against Roman's cousins, the Usos. She was okay with that, but she hated that she had to compete when she didn't even cause that much of a raucous in his match. And to top it all off, Dean had to accompany her. But apparently, it was in the contract she signed. She and Dean still haven't had a conversation since she told him to leave her hotel room the night before, and if there was ever a time for that chat, then would have been the time. But she didn't even know where he was.

She sat by herself in the corner of the locker room they found, head in her hands, rubbing her temples. She was battling her inner turmoil. She wasn't ready to say it out loud, but she missed talking to him. She missed everything about him actually. The stupid tone of his voice – the drawl that made her want to melt – his sarcasm, his mannerisms, his ability to make her forget everyone else and just be free, she missed all of that, but she needed to just forget about him. She was trying, she really was. Every day for the past 7 months, she had been trying to push him out of her mind. But she was failing miserably, and she wanted to hate him for it. And working with him wasn't helping. After seeing him for the first time after all those months, the feeling of love she had repressed had resurfaced.

It was problematic because she so desperately wanted to hate him.

When he left for his spot for his spot on the main roster she felt abandoned. He promised to always be for her and she needed that to be a promise that he always kept but he jumped at the opportunity to leave. Not to sound selfish, she was genuinely proud of him and she was happy that he was successful…She just wanted him to be successful in Florida. Not New York, not California, or any other state that he traveled to without her.

Maybe she was unrightfully bitter, but what girlfriend wouldn't have been upset that their one love was leaving her? And she could go with him – just like her parents had done with her the year before – she let him go on his own.

Of course at first, he was confused, hurt, and angry, but he understood. He understood the reasoning behind what she had made up. She gave him some half-assed excuse that anyone in their right mind wouldn't have believed. She told him that she was afraid he would cheat on her with some trollop backstage while he was on the road, so to prevent her own heart ache, they couldn't be together anymore. She laughed at the memory and rubbed her face. She couldn't believe how little she had thought that through.

Even though she was the one who ended it, she still harbored resentment toward him. Dean had made no attempts to fight it, he just let it happen. _And _to top it off, he didn't keep in touch. But from what he told her during their argument – she concluded that it wasn't on purpose – he couldn't be friends with her. She understood and appreciated the honesty, but hell, a phone call would have been nice. That wasn't too much to ask for was it? She didn't think so. Then again, even it was asking too much, she still wouldn't have thought so.

She groaned and pressed her back against the wall. Their match was coming up and she knew that he would be wondering where she was.

She hoped and prayed that she wouldn't get caught up I anything tonight and she could just go out there tonight and prove that she deserved a shot at the Diva's Champion, AJ. She figured that by winning the match, she would make everyone stop and pay attention. She may have been a Shield member, but she wanted to prove that she didn't need them. After all, it's not like they could fight her battles for her. Not with WWE going PG and all that foolishness.

She got up from her corner in their locker room and adjusted her tights and wiggled her feet deeper into her boots. She rolled her neck and shoulders as she whispered in her thick British accent, "Into the lion's den I go."

* * *

Dean was freaking out. Yeah, Dean Ambrose – United States Champion – was freaking out. He was nervous and he knew exactly why. He didn't want Paige to get hurt. He knew full well that she was capable of taking care of herself – especially against Alicia Fox – but that didn't mean that freak accidents couldn't happen. He knew that it was very important to her, but he couldn't get his head in the game. Ever since taking to her the night before – or early morning, whatever you want to refer to it as – he had been out of it. He couldn't focus. Even Roman and Seth had called him out on it, but he simply brushed off their concerns and politely told them to fuck off.

_Where is she? _He hadn't seen his "charge" – as he had so kindly dubbed her, much to her chagrin – since they had gotten to the arena and that fact was making him even more anxious. His normal, cool, calm, collected, and diabolical demeanor was gone. He thought that it maybe he shouldn't have said what he had back at the iHop. His subtle admittance – still unapproached by his other teammates – he hadn't said anything else to her since then. He knew that his "Me too" was still echoing through her mind. _Stupid. Fucking stupid. _ He cursed himself.

By then, he was pacing back and forth. So he hadn't seen that Paige was standing behind him, leaning against the wall. He was startled when he heard her clear her throat. Quickly pulling himself together, he glared at her, "You're late."

"Whatever." _Maybe it's because you didn't tell me that we would taking the ramp down to the ring, _she hid a scowl behind her hair, "Let's just get on with it then, gramps."

They stood just behind the curtain as they waited for the opening cue of their entrance music. He threw his title over his shoulder and smirked at her, "Are you implying that I'm old, love?" He used a fake, horrendous British accent, adding annunciation the word love. His smirk grew deeper when he noticed her slight reaction to the term of endearment.

Much to his vexation, she didn't respond to it the way he wanted her to. She simply rolled her eyes and said, "I don't say a lot of things to your face." It sounded a bit malicious, but it was the truth. She hadn't said a lot of the words she needed to when it came to him. That he knew. "Now, shut it so we can do this."

Just as her last sentence flowed from her tongue, their music hit. Mockingly, he bowed and gestured her ahead, "After you, love."

Their music blared through the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, along with a chorus of mixed response. She assumed it was because the fans didn't know how to respond to her yet. She knew one thing though, they weren't gonna like her after this match. Against her better judgment and the irritation she harbored at Dean, she hooked her left arm in his right, and they confidently strode down to the ring.

She smirked as she climbed up on to the apron and let out her guttural, primal scream. She stripped off her leather jacket that was designed to resemble the S.W.A.T-like attired the boys wore. She tossed it to the side, in Dean's direction, but not at him. She watched as he scowled and played up the crowd, waving off their rowdy jeering and booing. She rolled her eyes at the people as she stretched in the ring and waited for her red-headed opponent to get her tall ass to the ring.

* * *

Dean paid close attention as the two Diva's spilled out of the ring. He watched as Paige overpowered Alicia, pushing her to the hard mat. He winced as Paige picked up her visibly hurt opponent by the hair and swung her into the barricade and repeatedly banged the woman's head against it. The referee began the ten count.

To say that he was impressed with her relentless punishment on her opponent would have been a massive understatement. Apparently, Paige's original plan to win the match was no more. He knew she was using her viciousness as a scare tactic.

He walked around the ring, toward the ramp and watched as she dragged Alicia's limp body into the ring, immediately setting her up for the Paige-Turner.

And just like that, the match was over.

Paige pretended to dust off her hands and kick dirt into her fallen adversary's face, "Done." She rolled out of the ring and joined Dean on the ramp. They began the trek up the ramp. Without thinking much of it, he slung his arm around her shoulder. The sudden skin to skin contact sent a shiver up her spine. Involuntarily, she wrapped her arm around his waist and laid the opposite over the hand on her shoulder. _What am I doing? _

She didn't know.

* * *

A dark, silent, eeriness filled the hallway of her choice. And the chill feeling of the space was almost supernatural. Evil, cruel intent occupied her mind. She had one goal, stay at the top of the food chain. She had connections and motivation. But she needed the one person she felt could provide the muscle to back her up. He needed to be on board.

"Think about it. She's in the way… they're in the way." She tried her hardest to sound pleading, but she knew that so far, he saw right through her.

"No" he shook his head and crossed his arms, "Do you know how much trouble I would get into if we got caught?" he wouldn't just lose his job, he'd be the one that took the brunt of it. She would get off Scott free.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. But she knew that he was right to have his doubt but she had to stick to her plan. She buried the rest of her pesky conscience in the back of her mind as she squared her shoulders and looked the muscular man in the eye, "We won't get caught. There's no need to worry." She flipped her long hair over her shoulder, "We're irreplaceable."

He gave her an incredulous, "Says who?"

"Me." She sighed, her irritation level reaching its peak, "Look, I don't have time for this. So are you in or are you too scared to get your hands dirty?"

"I'll think about it."

* * *

**A/N:**_ So how'd I do?...Paige is confusing, isn't she...And what about Dean? Sheesh, they are so complicated. And what's with the creeps lurking in the shadows? _

_Until next time,_

_**Liz**_


	8. Chapter 8

Paige peeked open one eye and brushed her hair from her face. She tried to move, but she was being weighed down by an arm. She turned over onto her side and was greeted with the gaze of Dean Ambrose. She wanted to groan in frustration, or scream, but she forced a smile. Ending up in bed with him wasn't what she planned on doing when she left the arena with him, but it happened. And instead of kicking him out again, she let him kiss her. "No one can know about this."

"Good morning to you too." Dean chuckled dryly as he sat up in the bed and stretched his sleeping limbs.

"I'm being serious." Paige yawned and rolled out of bed and headed toward the bathroom, "No one."

"Don't worry about it, Love." Dean smirked at her as she disappeared into the room.

Part of him was a little hurt that the first thing she said to him was a rejection, but he wasn't surprised. He knew this would happen the night before, but he didn't think anything of it. Now he wish he had. They gave into temptation, just to see if they were missing anything. And he realized that he was. But apparently, he was just another experience added onto her list of mistakes. And it sucked.

* * *

Kaitlyn groaned aloud when she noticed that she didn't have ice in her freezer, "Man," She stomped her foot, "Not is really not the time." It was the morning after the Smackdown taping and all she wanted to do was ice her shoulder. The same pesky shoulder that cost her the Diva's Championship. All she wanted was relaxation, but she needed ice first.

She slipped her tank top over her torso, grabbed her key card and the empty ice bucket before heading out of her room. She was hit with the cold gust of air that all hotel hallways she had been too seemed to have, _Where the hell is that ice machine?_

She turned the corner, and there he was in all his morning glory. Kaitlyn watched as Roman angrily fumbled, and banged on the ice machine. She figured he had had a bad night – or morning, depending on what time he got back to his room – so she wouldn't hold his frustration against him. She couldn't help but giggle a little, but then he looked over his shoulder at her. _Shit._

"Good morning." He gruffly said. She smiled and walked over to him. She stared at him as she pressed the button on the front of the ice machine. He sighed and raked his hand through his hair, "I knew that."

She giggled, "Sure you did."

There was an awkward silence that seemed to hang over them. It was definitely looming.

He seemed to pick up on it because he cleared his throat and asked, "So.. ugh.. how'd you sleep?"

She thought for a second before hesitantly moving his filled ice bucket. He muttered a quick apology while she handed it to him and quickly replaced the empty space under the nozzle with her own bucket. Remembering that he had asked her a question, she felt a blush creep onto her cheeks when his expectant eyes met hers, "Um, I slept fine. The beds here are soft." He chuckled at her answer. From the look on her face, he knew that she hadn't thought of her answer very well. She wanted to smack herself, but that would have made the situation more embarrassing. She quickly shifted the spotlight onto him, managing to save herself from further embarrassment, "How about you?" she ran a hand through her hair, "How'd you sleep?"

He rolled his eyes, "Seth was on the phone with Leighla all night."

"I'm sorry." Kaitlyn laughed, grabbing her filled ice bucket, she smiled at him, "Well, I'm gonna go." She pointed behind herself using her thumb, "See ya later."

"Kaitlyn wait," She winced and turned back around to face him. He looked unsure of himself and it was kind of weird to see, "I… uh…" he scratched the back of his neck, "About the other day-"

"Don't worry about it." She smiled tightly, "I was having a bad night, and you were trying to help. I appreciate it. And don't worry about what Seth said either, he's an idiot," She laughed for good measure. She knew he was trying to apologize but she didn't want to hear it. She didn't need that right now. "No worries, let's just forget about it." She continued to walk away, leaving him no chance to reply.

He watched as she disappeared around the corner, his chance to talk about what he had planned leaving with her. _I don't want to forget yet. _

The big man was right where he started.

* * *

Kaitlyn walked into her hotel room and kicked the door shut. She wanted nothing more than to go back to where she had left Roman and let him say whatever he needed to, but she couldn't handle what she thought it was. She knew that he wanted to _let her down easy _but no, she couldn't deal with that. It shouldn't have been that difficult seeing that there was nothing going on between them. But she didn't know if there could ever be, or if she wanted it to be an option. It was crazy because they didn't know each other. But did she want to get to know him? She didn't know yet.

She grabbed a towel from the table where she had left it, quickly pouring the ice onto it. She crumbled into a chair around the table and closed her eyes. Her thoughts drifted to nothing in particular, she just wanted to sleep. It was rather early in the morning, but she knew that she would have to leave for the next city soon. And for the first time in a while, she didn't feel safe going alone, not knowing why.

There was a knock on the door and for a second, she wondered if it was Roman, but then she realized that he wasn't that bold. Nor did he know where her room was. The knock wasn't heavy or strong enough to be his either, she knew that by just looking at him. Was that weird?

She slowly got up from the chair and walked over to the door. Her eyes widened when she saw who was on the other side of the door. It wasn't Roman – that was for sure – and the person standing behind the door was someone she hadn't talked to since the resident crazy chick sunk her teeth into him.

She opened the door, and before she could speak, he cut her off.

"I need to talk to you." He yanked on the front of his hoodie, "All of you."

* * *

**A/N:** _Ugh, guys, Paige/Dean and Kaitlyn/Roman are being confusing again. And there is a snitch making appearance. Y'all know who that is...But is he in on the evil plan too, or is he just an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire? hmmm, I'll let you figure that one out. _

_Until next time Kiddos. _


	9. Chapter 9

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Kaitlyn had never expected to see him at her door. He looked uneasy and that was never a good sign. "And what do you mean 'all of us'? It's just me here." She crossed her arms loosely and stared at him.

"I'm here to help you." He smirked at her.

"With what?" If he was referring to the Shield, they were the last people on WWE roster who needed help, with anything. Unless you counted Dean and Paige, because that that situation needed some sort of therapy.

He must have seen the thought on her face because he rolled his eyes, "Look, I don't have the time for this – _you _don't have time for this." He annunciated the word 'you' plainly dropping the hint that this wasn't about him, but instead it was for her. "Just take me to the rest to the Shield."

"I'm not-"

He cut her off, "It doesn't matter right now."

She hesitated for a moment before she subsequently relented, "Fine, but this better be good."

"You'll thank me later."

She stepped outside of her room and pulled the door shut, "Whatever Dolph." She felt as if she would regret this later but, if he was being serious about whatever was going on, then it was important. For whatever reason, she felt as if her former evil genius of an ex-friend had something to do with this. She kept stealing glances at him but every time it happened, she admonished herself. She hated Dolph. Yet, he still fascinated her.

They stopped at room 419 at the end of the hall and she hesitated, her hand hovered in front of the door, not confident in her next move. "I hope this isn't a waste of time."

Dolph yanked on his hoodie and looked around the room, "Just knock."

_Ha, please. _Kaitlyn smirked. She was positive that that was the first time he had ever uttered a please, ever.

But pulling herself together, she knocked.

Deep breath after deep breath had been inhaled and Paige still haven't opened the door. Kaitlyn was getting anxious. She raised her hand to open the door and just barge into the room, but then she realized that the door was locked and she didn't have a key. "Paige! Open the door! It's important!" _I hope. _She hoped she wasn't shooting herself in her own foot.

Suddenly, the door swung open, but it wasn't who she expected to see, "Dean?!" her eyes almost bulged out of her head and she was sure that she could have been inhaling flies.

"Um, yeeeeeaaaah." He crossed his arms, "That's my name, don't wear it out." He scratched the back of his neck and then pointed to Dolph, "But uh, what is ramen noodles doing here?"

"Oh," Dolph laughed sarcastically, "I'm assuming that was for me… Really original Ambrose, nice."

Dean chuckled, "Would you have preferred me calling you Ziggy?" the two men continued to bicker and Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and pushed past Dean. She knocked on the door connecting to Seth and Roman's room and she hoped they would hurry. She quickly took a seat on the couch and prayed that no one got strangled.

"Where is Paige? Dolph wants to talks about something."

Dean shook his head, "This better be good or else Paige will crucify someone." He sat on the edge of the one armed couch and crossed his arms.

Soon enough, Seth walked in rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Roman emerged soon after and stood in the corner, leaning against the kitchen counter. Everyone assumed he would take his usual quiet stance and watch the chaos ensue. Seth groggily approached where she sat and plopped down onto the couch. "Good morning, Kait." Absentmindedly, he put his head on her knee and put his arm over his face.

Kaitlyn stared at him for a moment, taken aback. She didn't answer him and simply blinked but she couldn't help but looking up at Dean and Roman. Dean looked confused, but Roman… He didn't look happy.

She quickly looked away, and a sudden pang of guilt swept over and she didn't know why. But before she could change the subject, Paige stepped out of the bed room – clad in sweats with a towel in her hair – her eyes immediately settled on Dolph and she pointed at him with her index finger, "What in the hell is he doin' here?"

_Oh, thank God. _Kaitlyn let the tension dissolve from her shoulders. She quickly recovered and cleared her throat. She looked between Paige and Dolph, "_Ziggy _here has something to say."

Paige raised her right eyebrow, "Well then let's get on with it then." Without thinking much about it, she sat in the chair that Dean was sitting on.

Dolph looked uncertain, very unlike the man that performed in a WWE ring. "I shouldn't be here." He rolled up his hoodie and started scratching at his left wrists.

Seth suddenly removed his arm from his face, "Then what are you doing here?" he shot back.

"Seth…" Paige warned. She had a bad feeling and she thought that maybe Dolph could help settle it…prove it right. "On with it Dolph. We don't have all morning, it's almost 8 o'clock." They still had to head to the next city for RAW.

"AJ is planning something." Dolph scanned the expression of all of them and he couldn't read any of it. "I was going to my locker room and I overheard a conversation I wasn't a part of. I don't know what it is, but she's not playing crazy. She actually is."

Seth felt Kaitlyn tense but didn't say anything, he simply looked up Dean. Before the older man could speak, Paige spoke what they all wanted to say, "How can we trust you?"

"I'm here aren't I?"

"Was that supposed to make us feel better?" Dean tilted his head to the side and rubbed his chin. Paige held up her hand to silence Dolph before he could even speak.

"So you expect me to believe that your girlfriend is planning some evil scheme and you have no idea what it's about?" Paige raised her eyebrow, making everyone but Dolph laugh.

"You know Dolph, I always had you pegged as a sleazy poor excuse of a man, but I never thought you would lie about it."

"Look," Dolph raked his hand over his bleached hair, "I'm not lying."

Seth chuckled bitterly, but didn't look up, "How do we know that you're not the one planning this?"

"Would I be here if I were?" Dolph shot back and his nostrils flared.

Paige laughed bitterly and shook her head "Would you?"

* * *

**A/N:** Do you believe him?


	10. Chapter 10

AJ skipped down the hallway of the 4th floor. Her hair swung freely and hung in loose curls. She stopped in front of the last door by the emergency exit. She knocked on the room door, and waited. She was to be expected, so she didn't have to wait long for the door to open.

The large man looked at her, "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you about what that bitch and her lackeys did to you on RAW." Her voice was chipper despite the look of evil written on her face, "I have a plan."

He crossed his large, muscular arms, "I'm listening."

* * *

_"Would you?"_

Dolph looked Kaitlyn's direction and the look on his eye was the most genuine as she had ever seen. He looked back at Paige and shook his head, "yes, I would be here." He shot a look at Kaitlyn, "I have reasons to care."

"You know say that, and I still don't believe you." Dean crossed his arms and stood up. He approached the order man, his eyes searching for any significant detail that would show that Dolph was lying, "You know, I don't believe that AJ's maniacal plan is the only reason you're here." Dean rubbed his clean-shaven face and tapped his index finger against his chin, "I don't like liars, Ziggy."

Dolph rolled his eyes, "Fine, then I'll prove it."

"You have until next week's Smackdown taping." Paige removed the towel from her hair and folded it in two, "Or else, your crazy girlfriend is the last person you'll have to worry about." She smirked and turned away from him, "You can see yourself out." Of course she was obviously done talking about that with him. As he walked out of the room and slammed the door, "What do you think?"

Seth sat up from leaning on Kaitlyn's knee. He stretched his arms above his head, "I think he's full of shit," He chuckled, "He better prove himself."

"Kaitlyn?" Paige wearing watched her friend. She looked uneasy, "What are you thinking?"

"I think he could be telling the truth, but I don't know." Kaitlyn hunched over and rested her elbows on her thighs. Brushing her hair back from her face, "If he is right, then I guess we all have to watch out." However, she didn't believe that, she felt that this had nothing to do with her. She had already told AJ that she didn't want the title anymore. She had a bad feeling about this.

"You and Paige are gonna ride with us." Dean returned, and his tone left no room for argument.

* * *

AJ walked into the parking lot of her the hotel and spotted the car she would be taking to the next city over. She walked over to the passenger side of the car. She adjusted her Diva's title over her shoulder, opened the car door and sat down. "Hello, girly."

The woman smiled, "I'm surprised you're not with Dolph."

AJ shrugged, "he wanted to drive by himself."

The older woman looked shocked, "And you let him?" she put her hand on AJ's forehead to check her temperature, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Big E. is following him," She laughed, "he does everything I tell him to do." Did she feel bad about using him as if he were some random assistant? Not really, no. If he wanted to follow her around, then she wouldn't squander it.

"You are insatiable."

"Whatever." AJ rolled her eyes and buckled her seat belt, "Did you get Kaitlyn to give you information?"

"No." The woman frowned.

"Oh my god, c'mon," AJ whined, "you're supposed to weasel her for info! She'll tell you, she trusts you."

"Sorry," she started the car, "She's gonna suspect me. I can't just randomly start asking questions."

AJ snorted, "Trust me, she already suspects you."

"Well I guest she isn't wrong."

* * *

"You gotta be fucking kidding me." Reigns growled angrily. Their car was stuck on the side of the highway. The engine of the car was smoky, the gas of was leaking, and the brakes were shot to hell. Luckily enough for them, Dean - who was driving at the time - had gotten the car to slow down and they safely parked on the side of the highway, where they had sat for a while now. But that was considered to be the miracle of the day. "I'm suing the fuck out of that car agency!" Roman stalked off and kicked the grass they were parked on.

Paige and Kaitlyn laughed from the inside of the car as they watched Dean and Seth try to get Roman to calm down. Again, they were sitting there for a while by then and they were bored, so anything was entertaining by that point.

Paige's demeanor suddenly changed. She put her hand on Kaitlyn's forearm and spoke in a hushed tone, "Do you think that AJ would mess with the car?"

Kaitlyn snorted, "Nah." She shook her head, "I mean, she's crazy but not that crazy."

Paige stared off in front of her, through the windshield. She watched as Roman paced back and forth, Seth was sitting on the ground, while Dean was angrily dialing numbers on his phone. Her sight lingered on Dean longer than needed. But she didn't look away. He looked up at her and she quickly averted her eyes. She couldn't look at him. Last night had just made everything more awkward. She just wanted to curl into a ball and go home. She looked back at Kaitlyn and sighed, "I wouldn't put it past her."

"I don't think she would try to kill us." She and AJ weren't friends anymore, but she couldn't fathom the thought of AJ attempting to kill anyone. Well, there was that one time she pushed CM Punk through a table, and pushed John Cena off a ladder. But that was entirely different. She ran her fingers through her hair and pressed her feet on the back the driver's seat, "I don't know."

"What are you thinking?" Paige asked quietly. She didn't believe any of that. She knew that Kaitlyn was just trying to convince herself that even though the AJ she used to be friends with was long gone. But Paige, she wasn't so convinced.

"I just don't think this has anything to do with me." Kaitlyn rubbed her temples, "I just don't know what to think."

"Maybe you're right." Paige frowned. This was ridiculous and she was over the situation. She had enough problems for herself and thinking about AJ's level of sanity – or lack thereof – wasn't on her priority list. "But for the love of god, we're stranded on the highway, right after talking to her boyfriend this morning. And you're telling me that she had nothing to do with this!"

Kaitlyn rubbed her temples, "What if he was just a distraction? Like, maybe he was just killing our time so they could mess with the car." She drove her own rental back to the dealership and she didn't have any problems, which only furthered her own thought process. AJ wasn't after her. She was simply a pawn, and she would not deal with that.

"Well, then Dolph has three angry men to worry about..." Paige paused and Kaitlyn arched an eyebrow at her, "And two very pissed off women."

* * *

**A/N: ****_Are car dealerships allowed to rent out defective cars? No I didn't think so._****_Thoughts?_**


	11. Chapter 11

"You missed a house show."

"What would have happened if it were a live television?"

"Maybe this is too much for you."

"I think we should just pull you from this storyline and send you back to NXT."

Needless to say, Paige was put through the ringer and missing a house show didn't bode well with management. A part of her was upset because she took most of the damage for it – The rest of the Shield and Kaitlyn had gotten away with a warning. Luckily for her, Stephanie and Triple H fought to keep her around – she didn't think it should have been necessary – after all, she had only been on the main roster for a week. She didn't know why they let her off the hook, but she was grateful. She just had one problem… AJ Lee.

Paige held her head in her hands, she didn't need the extra difficulties that AJ had afforded her. She heaved out angry sighs and truth be told, she didn't know how long she could handle everything. Her mixed feelings toward Dean were enough, they were enough to make her want to run in the other direction when she saw him. She was confused, which was starting to make her second guess herself.

She headed toward the gorilla position where her partners were standing in the corner, away from everyone else. They exchanged curt nods – she assumed they were in character around the people backstage. She returned their nods and gave a stern look, "Reigns, where's Kaitlyn?"

Roman raised his right eye brow, "Am I supposed to know that?" He seemed to get irritated as soon as the words left his mouth. He was a little upset with her at the moment, unjustifiably so, but still upset, "She's not one of us –"

"Go find her. Now!" her eyes and the tone of her voice challenged him to say something. They were friends and he was a hell of an intimidating guy, but she'd be damned if the one and only woman she called a friend was hurt because he couldn't control his hormones. She couldn't have cared less about what their problem with each other was – if they even had one. She figured they needed to just talk – but she refused to ignore the fact that they were all being targeted, "Pu' on your big boy pants and go ge' her."

The Samoan man set his jaw and slowed his breathing to control the small amount of rage bubbling inside of him. Tonight was not the night for Paige to mess with him. They had been through one hell of a week and he didn't need her to play matchmaker. He was still pissed about seeing Seth and Kaitlyn get comfortable with each other and getting stranded on the side of the highway with all of them. He just wanted to be left alone to deal with his jealousy on his own.

Paige eyed him, "Go!" a small smirk set on her face, "or would you prefer tha' Seth wen'?"

"Wait what?" Seth interjected.

"Fine." Roman growled, "I'll be back." He stalked away, muttering very colorful language and yelling at confused backstage personnel.

"How'd you do that?" Seth asked, the amusement was evident in his tone.

"Female persuasion." She laughed. After a moment she cleared her throat, "You're all staying back here."

"Nope." Dean ended his silence, "No chance."

"Excuse me?" Paige crossed her arms, ignoring the slight squeak of her leather jacket, "I don' remember askin' you."

"Neither do I, but you're not going out there alone." He was not impressed with her sudden power trip. He would not let her get her way on this, no matter how much he cared for her.

"Wha' are you gonna do, Dean? Knock ou' a bunch of girls?" Paige questioned him. She knew he knew damn well that she had a match against the Bellas and Naomi for the #1 contender's spot for the Diva's title, the Shield couldn't just go barreling through women to protect her without facing severe consequences. "That title around AJ's wais' is mine and I don' need you two to win it" She stared at Dean and stood right in front of him to get her point across.

"Okay guys, let's not do this right now." Seth grabbed Paige by the waist and pulled her back, "Just go win your match and get out of there."

"Fine, bu' under no circumstances do you two pass tha' damn curtain. Understand?"

"Yes your majesty." Seth smirked.

She rolled her eyes and stepped forward as her music hit, but Dean obstructed her path. Before she could say anything, he leaned forward and his lips passed over hers in a light kiss. Startled, she pushed him away, but he seemed pretty satisfied with himself, "Kick some ass out there."

She smiled, "I will, then I'll be back to kick yours." She swiped her hand over her mouth and disappeared through the curtain.

"Well, shiiiit." Seth smiled, "That was interesting. What's all up in her Kool-Aid?"

Dean looked at him and his eyes narrowed into slits, "Stop talking like Reigns, it doesn't suit you."

The younger man laughed and asked, "What are you thinking?"

"About that match?"

"Yeah." Seth had a bad feeling that he wasn't the only one that had a bad feeling, but he wanted to know what Dean was thinking. His friend was much more meticulous and he himself usually just went with gut feelings.

Dean looked thoughtful for a moment, "AJ is gonna be out there and ringside which means, so will Big E." He knew that the former competitive weight lifter was almost brainless when it came to AJ, so he figured that the man would hesitate to hit a woman if it meant he would be awarded by AJ.

Seth put two and two together and shook his head, "I don't think he's that stupid." He shook away the image of Big brutalizing any woman, but Paige was the one person that he watched through the monitor.

"He probably fucked with the car too."

"How'd you figure that?"

Dean sighed and eyed the nosey stagehand that was standing by. The spooked man scurried away and disappeared, "Ziggler was with us, so I figured that he was being used as a diversion." He could still see the look of confusion on the slightly shorter man's face so he continued, "Whoever was stupid enough to attempt to possibly kill us isn't that bright."

"You think Ziggler knew about it?"

"It's looks that way to me.." Dean gritted his teeth, "Let's just get through this damn match."

* * *

Roman was on high alert as he walked in the hallway heading toward the Diva's locker room. He didn't want to go where he was about to go, but after pushing aside his unfounded feelings, he understood why they had to look out for Kaitlyn. She was definitely going to be targeted now, even if she didn't think she was involved. They had to protect the Blonde… he had to.

He turned the corner and was hit over the head, hard. He involuntarily grunted as the pain shot through his head and neck. He managed a few good hits, but because of the blow he suffered to the head, he was shaky on his feet and he was over powered. The man attacking him grabbed him by the throat and then with a great deal of effort, slammed him into the wall and the utility crates scattered along the walls.

The mugging was soon over, but the attack was just beginning.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to get the chance to post this. I know, I'm a horrible person School just started up a last week and homework is kicking my ass, so as you can imagine, I didn't have time to update. Anyway, I hope that you guys haven't lost interest and still enjoy this. Anyway, enough of my blabbing, get to reading. I have a feeling this chapter is gonna be interesting to you... Well, at least I hope so. **

* * *

Dean and Seth watched the ending of Paige's match in the secluded office they had chosen for the night – after seeing that the match was proceeding well, they walked back. Paige held Natalya in the Ram-Paige and it looked like the blond was in severe pain. Dean rubbed his chin and anticipated Natalya's submission, hoping that it would be soon or else the frustration on Paige's face would turn to anger. He knew that she wouldn't be able to hold her temper considering how her week had been unfolding. Seth sighed in frustration from where he had decided to sit during the match.

"C'mon… tap." The younger man seemed to be anxious for the match to be over. He had never been the type to watch divas matches – none of the members of the Shield had been – but there they were. Seth raked his hands through his hair before he started gnawing on his finger nails – a habit he thought he had beaten. He looked up at Dean from his seat and his eyebrows furrowed, "How are you not worried?"

Before he could answer, Natalya tapped to the submission hold and Paige savagely grabbed her hair and shoved her away, causing her face to smack into the canvas. Dean smiled a little to himself and praised the Raven Haired woman silently. He turned to Seth; with his right hand tucked between his left elbow and side, he point to the TV monitor, "Calm down, she just won." He himself was anything but calm, the anticipation for what could and probably would happen after the match was bothering every cell of his being. Even though they could see the entire match had gone smoothly and Paige was uncharacteristically celebrating with the crowd – Dean was unnerved. He was a very analytical person, and it was bothering him that he had envisioned something bad happening _during _the match. But he was grateful there were no incidents.

But unfortunately, he was right to be unsettled. Much like he had anticipated, AJ jumped up from her seat and circled the ring. Seth groaned and his nostrils flared, "This can't and won't end well. Let's go out there." Dean shook his head, obviously not agreeing with Seth's request.

"No," he licked his chapped lips, "You heard her, we stay here." He didn't want to abide by her demand, but he knew that it would only make her pissed at them because from what it looked like, AJ was about to provoke her. And Paige was more than capable of handling the manipulative Diva's Champ.

"None of this is a part of the damn show." Seth nearly growled, and he was making himself angrier and angrier as time went on, "And where the hell is Reigns with Kaitlyn?"

"Damn..." Ambrose muttered; he had completely forgotten that Roman was gone. Which never happened. He didn't know where they had gone off to, but he was sure that the Samoan man was capable of defending himself and Kaitlyn.

The two champs were distracted again, when they saw AJ nod at Big E. and perch herself on the announcer's table. Big E. jumped onto the ring apron and Seth tensed, "Why is she still in there?!" He stood up from his seat and stepped beside Dean.

"She's not one for running…" He growled in anger and frustration, "Screw the rules, let's go."

Before they could both reach the door, they heard Dolph's entrance music. However the older man didn't appear on the ramp, he jumped the barricade. It was odd to say the least. Unlike what they had expected, the bleach blonde didn't attack Langston.

Seth squinted his eyes, "What the hell?" He looked up from the screen to find that the door was opened and the U.S. Champion was nowhere in sight.

* * *

Paige's brown eyes burned from their lack of moister. She hadn't blinked since Big E. entered the ring. She was nervous and her palms were sweating. _Where the hell are the guys? _She watched as Big E stepped closer to her. He actually wasn't that much taller than her – he was about 5'11 – but muscle and build wise, he was huge.

She had never been much for prayer, but she found herself praying to every god she had learned about in school. Because only Zeus knew how she was about to make it out of that ring in one piece. She started to worry if the rest of the Shield were coming because after 5 minutes of standing in the center of the ring staring up at the man in front of her, she figured that she was alone. But then again, she had been the one to demand that she be in the ring be herself, but she didn't expect them to listen. They were the three male members of the Shield for crying out loud.

Just as she thought her life was about to be in grave danger, she heard Dolph's music and saw him running through the crowd. She had to fight the slight smirk on her face because she was fairly certain that she was going to be okay now. She hesitantly looked away from Big E for a couple seconds only to see that Dolph was getting into the ring. The blond man stood between them and Big E looked at his _mentor _angrily, "What the hell are you doing?"

_Sierra_

_Hotel_

_India_

_Echo_

_Lima_

_Delta_

_SHIELD!_

The look on the Heavy's face was priceless, and Dolph played along. They both looked angry but Paige was smirking. Soon, she was being flanked by Dean and Seth. They all stared at each other and much like all the men had expected, Paige wasn't leaving the ring. She looked at Dolph and her smirk deepened into an almost sinister smile, "Now is the time to prove yourself."

Dolph nodded and he stood before Big E, the former NXT Champion was confused and angry, feeling betrayed. But AJ was voicing both their anger in shrieks and shrill screaming. Funnily, she did all that from the outside of the ring and didn't dare even placing a finger on the ring apron.

What happened next shocked everyone in the ring and in attendance. Dolph turned and punched Dean square in the face, effectively opening the flood gates that held back violence. ALL HELL WAS ABOUT TO BREAK LOOSE.

* * *

**A/N: Did I just end this chapter at the good part? Yes, yes I did. **


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